


A Second Chance

by cestlavieminako



Category: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Genre: It'll take a while, M/M, a make-it-right AU, no real relationships right off the bat, since episode 44 clearly screwed things up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-18 01:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11863794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cestlavieminako/pseuds/cestlavieminako
Summary: After losing Parad in the battle against Gemdeus, Emu makes a hasty choice that could either bring the Bugster back, or backfire completely.





	A Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 44 OF EX-AID!
> 
> I started writing this before I'd even watched the episode, and I just really like the idea, so I'm going to see what I can do with it.

“Come on…please be in here somewhere…” Emu murmured, as he dug through the box containing his childhood memories. He was certain it was still here. He’d never been able to bring himself to get rid of such a valuable item, one that had made him feel so special as a child, even after he’d learned the truth about it.

A smile crossed Emu’s lips as he withdrew what he sought—a jewel case, holding what looked like a rather ordinary disc, but one that he had been absolutely overjoyed to receive as a child.

Mighty Action C. The prototype game that a young Dan Kuroto had sent him.

The game that had been responsible for infecting him with the Bugster virus, and creating Parad.

He grasped the case, pushing himself to his feet and hurrying to his living room, plugging in the console he’d need for the game.

“Please”, he thought to himself, as he took the disc from the case. “Please let there be something left of him on here.”

He slid the game into the system, just seconds before he registered the sound of his front door opening and closing, and Kiriya came into view.

Then there was that familiar feeling of the virus coursing through his body, and he sank to the floor.

“Emu!” Kiriya exclaimed, rushing into the room and dropping down beside the intern, his hand reaching for the Gamer Scope that dangled from around his neck. His eyes went from Emu’s form, to the television, where he could see faint hints of the Bugster virus swirling across the screen, before fading completely into the brightly colored background.

“Meijin, what did you do?” he asked, his voice suddenly soft.

Emu’s hand reached out to still Kiriya’s before he could scan him with the scope. “Don’t. It’ll put in a call to CR if you scan me.”

“Did you reinfect yourself?” Kiriya asked, even though he already knew the answer. He’d seen how dejectedly Emu had hung his head, how his shoulders had shaken ever so slightly with barely repressed sobs when Parad had faded away before him. “There’s not even a guarantee that it’ll work. There were so many variables with your infection…this could wind up killing you.”

Emu sucked in a shaky breath, lifting his gaze to meet Kiriya’s. “But it could bring him back. He shouldn’t have…he didn’t need to die like that.”

“God, Emu…” Kiriya sighed, sitting back on the floor. “You’re insane, you know that? You have no idea what could happen. Remember, Dan Kuroto removed Parad from you, before he was fully formed. There’s not gonna be anybody to do that this time…you realize that, right? You had him inside of you for ten years before he was extracted. What if it takes another ten for him to reform? What if it doesn’t work at all, and you just infected yourself with something we won’t be able to fight down the road? I’m sure the Ministry will take our equipment and lock it away now, yeah?”

“But there’s a chance he’ll come back!” Emu shot back. “Even if it’s a 1% chance…I want to try. Parad deserves it…he deserves another chance. A real one.”

Silence hung between them for several minutes before Kiriya finally sighed, shaking his head. “You’re out of your damn mind,” he finally grumbled, before his usual grin spread across his face. “So…should I be the first to congratulate you?” When Emu looked at him quizzically, his grin broadened. “Well, you’ve got a bun in the oven now, right?”

A Mighty plush bounced off his head, but Kiriya barely noticed it through his laughter.

If anyone could make this ridiculous scheme work, it was Emu. He just prayed that it would work the way Emu hoped, and it wouldn’t turn into Zero Day all over again.

*

Emu had to admit, he was just a bit disappointed that Parad didn’t pop out of him, fully formed, as soon as he’d infected himself with the virus again. But that wouldn’t have been realistic, would it? That wasn’t how the virus worked. There would definitely be an incubation period, but how long? Would it indeed be another decade before he was formed enough to emerge? 

Would Parad even remember him..?

Emu shook his head. It had only been a day; it wouldn’t do for him to get bent out of shape this early. He could very well have a long wait ahead of him, so he would simply need to be patient. Patient and positive. 

It surprised him how much he missed Parad. But, for him to have considered such a plan in the first place, he must have missed him from the moment he’d vanished, hand outstretched toward Emu.

“It’ll be different this time,” Emu promised himself, as he settled into bed that night. “He needs guidance…friends…we all didn’t treat him right. We barely acknowledged him. I…was terrible to him. I want to make it right. I want to give him a life where he can learn things properly, be cared for, and cared about.”

After he’d fallen asleep, there was a tiny glimmer over his heart that glowed brightly for a moment, before fading to a soft glow, then disappearing entirely.


End file.
